Security Levels

CANUSLANT JRT

CANUSLANT 2013

The CANUSLANT 2013 exercise was held on June 18-21, 2013. This full scale
exercise tested the management and deployment of resources in a cross-border
oil pollution incident. Two incident command posts were established, one at
the Hilton Hotel in St. John, New Brunswick and one at the Washington County
Community College in Calais, Maine.

CANUSLANT 2011

The CANUSLANT 2011 exercise was held on May 19-20, 2011 in
Bar Harbor, Maine. This Table Top Exercise tested the response to a non-tank
vessel pollution threat and incident in the vicinity of the United
States/Canada border.

Test ability of Atlantic Geographic Annex (AGA) to support
cross-jurisdictional support with government resources absent immediate
threat to the boundary.

Focus on industry resource movements and needed support under AGA/CANUSLANT
based on involvement from potential Responsible Parties (RPs).

Discuss applicability and use of Joint Marine Pollution Contingency
Plan, AGA, and other processes in non-contiguous waters (outside Gulf of
Maine/Bay of Fundy).

Assess need for trans-boundary support in salvage and lightering due
to limited resources that may prompt more cross-border resource
movements. Build additional understanding of emergency provisions,
processes, and limitations, especially related to salvage and coastal
trading acts. Test provisions of AGA relating to these laws and
exemptions.

Test provisions of health and safety provisions in the AGA and
discuss equivalency and recognition of training issues during
cross-border support.

CANUSLANT 2005

CANUSLANT 2005 was held at the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine from June 13-16, 2005. This was the latest in a series of biennial exercises to test the Atlantic Geographic Annex to the Joint Maritime Pollution Contingency Plan. CANUSLANT 2005 was designed to further education and agreement between Canada and the United States on “Places of Refuge”. The intent of this exercise was to:

Identify a joint cross-border Places of Refuge decision making process;

Identify resources and capability for response;

Identify required criteria for the assessment process;

Identify “Obstacles to Success”, and;

Enhance awareness of issues related to Places of Refuge.

The exercise results are being used to help update the Atlantic Geographic Annex, improve our future response capabilities, and identify issues that need to be addressed by the Joint Response Team. It is expected that this exercise will help drive Places of Refuge planning for the Atlantic Geographic Annex area and beyond. As a part of the exercise, and educational component helped to ensure that all participants had a baseline of knowledge on the Places of Refuge Issue. Below please find the exercise report, educational presentations, and read-ahead packages used for the exercise.

General Background Reading:

International Maritime Organization's Guidelines for Places of Refuge.
In 2003, the International Maritime Organization Resolution A.949(23) Guidelines on places of refuge for ships in need of assistance. This guideline is intended for use when a ship is in need of assistance but the safety of life is not involved (when the SAR convention would apply).
The guidelines recognize that, when a ship has suffered an incident, the best way of preventing damage or pollution from its progressive deterioration is to transfer its cargo and bunkers, and to repair the casualty. Such an operation is best carried out in a place of refuge. However, to bring such a ship into a place of refuge near a coast may endanger the coastal State, both economically and from the environmental point of view, and local authorities and populations may strongly object to the operation. Therefore, granting access to a place of refuge could involve a political decision which can only be taken on a case-by-case basis. In so doing, consideration would need to be given to balancing the interests of the affected ship with those of the environment. Read A.949(23) [163kb pdf] from the International Maritime Organization.

Pacific States/British Colombia Oil Spill Taskforce:Places of Refuge work Following the Prestige Incident off the Coast of Spain in 2002, the Task Force sponsored a Places of Refuge Roundtable in 2003 and chartered a workgroup to develop an Area Contingency Plan Annex for Places of Refuge for the U.S. West Coast to operationalize the IMO Guidelines, and submitted the document to Canadian authorities for consideration in their drafting of national guidelines. Read the Task Force Area Plan Annex for Places of Refuge [87kb pdf] and the Final Report for the Places of Refuge Project [223kb pdf]

United Kingdom's Approach to Assigning Places of Refuge: In the UK system, the Marine Safety Act 2003 provides powers of intervention and direction to the Secretary of State’s Representative for Maritime Salvage and Intervention (SOSREP), working with the MCA's Counter Pollution and Response Branch. United Kingdom's Approach to Assigning Places of Refuge